Rumors in Suq Yihya 334 Hijra*

In ( Suq Yahya), rumors grow Saying that god will come down with all his arms at the last third of the night Candle sellers prepare themselves for the event Mirror sellers set the mirrors on the roads Perfumers opened their empty flasks to capture his escaping essence It is hard to speculate Even harder to be disappointed He might not show in their mirrors He might escape their flasks But… What is the source of all this radiant beauty? And what is this sweet and strange essence? All stand silent and still; like statues not leaving their spots Their eyes fixed in their orbits As the sun rises and sets , no one blinks Rain falls like tears upon their stony beards and boots All alert to the slightest move, be it of a bough or bird He might come; even though they sharpened their senses, they will never feel him Until he becomes one of them.. a statue Exactly like them.. expecting that Buwaihis** will invade the suq And, like them, he’ll exchange rumors ·

*Suq Yahya: an ancient bazaar in the center of Baghdad near Almutanabbi street today. · **Buwaihis: a powerful tribe descended from Iran in early Islamic history that ruled both Iraq and Iran.translated from the original Arabic text: Amal Ibrahimkindly revised by the poet: George Szirtes